I feel like Tampa is on the way down

[RDTBay4]

I feel like people are expecting Vasy to be at his peak right now at this minute. Like they don't expect him to have growing pains as a starting goalie.

I don't think there's a guy anywhere around this team that takes as much unwarranted heat as Vasy.

It's not that as much as me not wanting to watch our championship window close while we wait for a goalie to develop or not develop.

 

[VinikToWinIt]

"Tampa is on the way down". What a bold prediction on the eve of their mathematical elimination.

I bet they even miss the playoffs this year!

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

Losing
Bishop
Boyle
Fippula

+ a player to Vegas for nothing is A LOT in 2 short years and when you factor in the questions of Stamkos's health

I think Tampa is on the way down for the next couple years it might not be a long time but shor term they are in some trouble.

No offense, but you're blowing the losses WAY, WAY out of proportion.

Bishop - very good #1, who has struggled to stay healthy in the P/O's. It looks like they have a legit replacement in the pipeline (who could actually be an upgrade). I also be SY goes out and gets a quality back-up in the off-season.

Fippula - really their 3rd line center, who was overpaid. Also have some quality replacements available.

Boyle - elite 4th liner. Really nice player to have on the team. No huge loss.

Expansion - too soon to tell, but I thought that when they moved Fippula & his NMC that they could protect Killorn. Also, I think that a guy like Erne will be able to step up into Killorn's role and produce.

Compare the list above to what the Hawks lost from the team that beat the Bolts:

Saad (1st line winger)
Sharp (1st line winger)
Richards (2nd line center)
Vermette (2nd/3rd line center)
Teravainen (2nd line winger)

Just listing names shouldn't be the end all be all of you're evaluation. Who was the team able to backfill those losses with? If you're trying to replace Lucic w/ Purcell & Setoguchi, you're in trouble.

 

[VinikToWinIt]

Who are you? Can you join our boards? cause half the people there can't even this.

Injuries are not an excuse this year, the roster minus Stamkos and Callahan should've been well cushioned before the injuries piled up. Instead they played mediocre hockey when healthy and blew easy games to bottom feeders, exactly as you said, they made their own luck this year.

Both injuries and poor play have been factors this year. I don't know why this is so hard to admit.

Could we have made the playoffs by playing better earlier this year? Yes.
Could we have made the playoffs by staying healthy? Yes.

I don't understand your vendetta against people who thought we would be fine before everyone got injured.

 

[Slyfox]

They are fine. Imo they are the best drafting team AINEC. Prioritizing drafting skill and speed has put them in a comfortable place where they can replace more expensive forwards with prospects. They are fine and I expect them to win the division next year.

 

[NoMessi]

I highly doubt it. They still will be able to retain key core pieces past this year even after the expansion draft. A lot of teams would happily trade their core for Drouin-Stamkos-Kucherov-Palat-Hedman-Vasilevski. My belief is that Tampa will be considered the favourite to win the Atlantic next season, and I don't see why they would be on the way down after that.

They are also one of the better drafting teams lately, and with all their injuries, a lot of their young prospects now have NHL experience. Look at Brayden Point's development for example. This is a team with a lot of skills and a lot of depth.

They do need a number 2 D, but which team doesn't have any holes anyway?

I think the OP is wrong.

Strålman? Bad year from the things I've heard and the few games I've watched, but I still believe he could recover.

 

[Iceman]

Strålman? Bad year from the things I've heard and the few games I've watched, but I still believe he could recover.

We need a stable 2nd pairing guy. Sure, if Stralman is on the 2nd pair, I guess we need a #2.

 

[Bronson]

I don't see this at all. Kucherov, Hedman and Vasilevskiy are top five players on their positions in the league and will probably stay that way for the forseeable future. The big question is how good Stamkos will be when he returns and how long he can stay healthy.

 

[Kennedys]

I don't see this at all. Kucherov, Hedman and Vasilevskiy are top five players on their positions in the league and will probably stay that way for the forseeable future. The big question is how good Stamkos will be when he returns and how long he can stay healthy.

Vasilevskiy

Top 5

 

[Bronson]

Vasilevskiy

Top 5

I was talking about back-ups

 

[Hackett]

I know, I know people are going to call me crazy for saying it, but it's true I feel like they are on their way down, and I wanted to do this topic before the game tonight because no matter who wins this game that has no impact on how I feel.

It's not as simple as looking at their point total and saying they will finish with at least 3 fewer points points than they did last season and going "well of course they are on the way down."

no it's looking back at where they were in 2015 and where they are now and I think they are in for a retool

gone from that cup final team is

Bishop
Fippula
Boyle

that's 3 solid pieces, plus Stamkos has missed a lot of time the last couple years, to the point where I think it's fair for us to start questioning his health, I am starting to wonder if he will ever be the same.

then you have the expansion draft coming, Tampa is going to lose a good player be it Tyler Johnson, or Alex Killorn or someone else that is another hole on their roster

I think there are a lot of questions in Tampa, I think their depth is going to be tested and I think that they might have to go through a couple down years to restock their depth.

Losing
Bishop
Boyle
Fippula

+ a player to Vegas for nothing is A LOT in 2 short years and when you factor in the questions of Stamkos's health

I think Tampa is on the way down for the next couple years it might not be a long time but shor term they are in some trouble.

Filppula is not a big loss. The Lightning have plenty of depth up front, and I didn't even rate him that highly to begin with.

Bishop was expendable because of Vasilevsky. Tampa had two number one calibur goalies, now they still have one, like most teams.

Boyle could be considered a loss, because there are not alot of players out there who are that big and can play an effective shutdown game, but its not like he would be the cause of a lightning downfall on his own.

Make no mistake, its still a team with lots of creativity and talent up front. You could argue that Stamos isn't even the best forward on the team. The defense is a little suspect, but at the top end, Hedman is as good as anyone else can offer in this league. Stralman is also a quality top 4.

I suspect this team goes back to contending for the division title next year. They just had too many injuries to overcome this season.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

I was talking about back-ups

He's their starter tho.

 

[missingjibbsclub]

I am convinced at this point Stamkos doesn't like playing hockey. He can't afford to miss another game in his career.
Certainly the definition of a band-aid.

 

[Absolut]

If Stamkos comes back strong, they've got a heck of a team. Kucherov is a beast. Hedman is a beast. Vasi is a question mark. He's got tremendous talent, but talent doesn't always turn into a consistent goalie performance. I am not a fan of letting Bishop go. Drouin is on the cusp of joining Kuch & Hedman in that special tier. This is the last team in the league I would look at and say "boy, they are on the way down."

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

No offense, but you're blowing the losses WAY, WAY out of proportion.

Bishop - very good #1, who has struggled to stay healthy in the P/O's. It looks like they have a legit replacement in the pipeline (who could actually be an upgrade). I also be SY goes out and gets a quality back-up in the off-season.

Fippula - really their 3rd line center, who was overpaid. Also have some quality replacements available.

Boyle - elite 4th liner. Really nice player to have on the team. No huge loss.

Expansion - too soon to tell, but I thought that when they moved Fippula & his NMC that they could protect Killorn. Also, I think that a guy like Erne will be able to step up into Killorn's role and produce.

Compare the list above to what the Hawks lost from the team that beat the Bolts:

Saad (1st line winger)
Sharp (1st line winger)
Richards (2nd line center)
Vermette (2nd/3rd line center)
Teravainen (2nd line winger)

Just listing names shouldn't be the end all be all of you're evaluation. Who was the team able to backfill those losses with? If you're trying to replace Lucic w/ Purcell & Setoguchi, you're in trouble.

Saad was replaced right away with Panarnin in fact he was upgraded

Richards was replaced and upgraded on with the return in the Saad trade

Sharp might be a loss might not depends on if he can get healthy again.

Teravanin seems to be replaced by Hartman

the Hawks did lose guys but the guys they replaced them with are better than the guys they lost so really what did they lose?

 

[OurlordAndSaviorKuch]

We were literally one game away from another Cup final last year and now that we have been decimated by injuries this year we are on the way down? What in gods green earth......

 

[bob27]

Tampa's average squad age is younger than Toronto's and their core guys are all in their early-mid 20s. They should be contending now and for the next few years without the massive injury issues they have had. The guys mentioned in the OP are precisely the kind of guys a GM should sacrifice to manage salary cap.

 

[bert]

I know, I know people are going to call me crazy for saying it, but it's true I feel like they are on their way down, and I wanted to do this topic before the game tonight because no matter who wins this game that has no impact on how I feel.

It's not as simple as looking at their point total and saying they will finish with at least 3 fewer points points than they did last season and going "well of course they are on the way down."

no it's looking back at where they were in 2015 and where they are now and I think they are in for a retool

gone from that cup final team is

Bishop
Fippula
Boyle

that's 3 solid pieces, plus Stamkos has missed a lot of time the last couple years, to the point where I think it's fair for us to start questioning his health, I am starting to wonder if he will ever be the same.

then you have the expansion draft coming, Tampa is going to lose a good player be it Tyler Johnson, or Alex Killorn or someone else that is another hole on their roster

I think there are a lot of questions in Tampa, I think their depth is going to be tested and I think that they might have to go through a couple down years to restock their depth.

Losing
Bishop
Boyle
Fippula

+ a player to Vegas for nothing is A LOT in 2 short years and when you factor in the questions of Stamkos's health

I think Tampa is on the way down for the next couple years it might not be a long time but shor term they are in some trouble.

Wishfull thinking and a lack of knowledge of tampas prospects and overall age of the roster has created an incredibly innacurate thread. Whats with leaf fans and tearing down every other young promising team in the league? Inferiority complex?

 

[PAZ]

Tampa's team is young with top-end talent, and a decent amount of depth. Their prospect pool is insane as well. The only thing up in the air is Vasi, but he's still only 22. If they bring in a 1B goalie who can handle 30-40 games until he proves himself a bit more. I guess their defensive prospect depth is pretty shallow, but with the number of assets they have I don't think it'll be a big issue to have to trade to fill a hole on the back-end.

 

[vippe]

Yeah with scrubs like Hedman, Kucherov, Stamkos, Drouin, Johnson, Palat.. that team is going doooooown.

 

[PRZ45MD]

Yeah with scrubs like Hedman, Kucherov, Stamkos, Drouin, Johnson, Palat.. that team is going doooooown.

I think TJ will be another casualty of the Cap. Yzerman has to re-sign Johnson, Palat and Drouin this offseason. With the way 21yo Brayden Point has been playing with 86 and 18 though, that may not be a huge loss. Tyler Johnson has not been the same since his wrist injury. He's been slower all season as well.

The Lightning has very high character, high effort/energy prospects coming in Cirelli, Joseph, Howden, Stephens. They also have high risk/high reward prospects coming in Yan and Raddysh. Raddysh needs to work with Barb Underhill somethin' fierce though.

They're light at D, but Ben Thomas and Slater Koekkoek(if he's not taken in the expansion Draft) are coming along nicely. Many believe SKK should have been with the team all year in the first place.

Victor Hedman turns 27 next December and he's signed long term.

Yzerman will have to get rid of Garrison's contract at some point unless something changes. Entire D Corps except for Hedman, and later Jake Dotchin, regressed for large portions of the season. The Andrej Sustr experiment is over.

They're not on the way down. The Yzerplan is not perfect and has had hiccups along the way (MSL Trade was great until he re-signed Callahan), re-signed Roloson, signed Nabokov to give Vasy time to mature(didn't work and Vasy's development stalled a bit), couldn't move Bishop at the Draft last season and instead moved him this year, drafted Anthony DeAngelo instead of Fabbri to name a few. Overall though, it's a solid plan and he's been a classy steward of the best interests of the Lightning. There's no reason to believe that this season wasn't an aberration. If they don't make the playoffs, which they probably won't, it will give them time to recuperate during a long off-season they have not had the luxury of for quite awhile.

 

[ulvvf]

NHL is the best league in the world, all teams are good and pretty even, and the difference between just missing the playoff and winning SC is very small.

Looking at the players, they have some really good ones.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

NHL is the best league in the world, all teams are good and pretty even, and the difference between just missing the playoff and winning SC is very small.

Looking at the players, they have some really good ones.

Arizona and Colorado disagree

 

[Rick74*]

I was going to post something about their future talent but then I realized that I really don't care.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

I don't see Tampa being on the way down.. In fact somehow i think this season is a blessing in disguise moving forward. A lot of their young guys have been relied on more which always helps in their development. And because of their season they could afford to move pieces. If they were winning, Filppula's cap hit is likely still there. Vasilevskiy is going to be more prepared for the #1 role after taking the reigns this season. etc.

They have great core pieces, Kucherov is now a 40-goalscorer, Hedman is a beast, Vasi will be one of the best goalies in the league for years to come.. And Stamkos is still Stamkos.

Their key guys have experience from deep playoff runs. And say what you want of Cooper, i still think he's a good coach.

It's always fun to see teams rebound after seasons like this. Hungry & healthy Tampa with a good mix of elite players and young players, along with maybe one or two FA's should be in contention for 1st in the Atlantic next year.

Due to the parity of the league, i think what Tampa went through this season, it's going to be more of a rule than exception to see someone have this type of season every year. Last year it was Montreal, this year it's Tampa. There are only handful of teams that can afford to lose key players and still have enough depth to overcome adversity and make the playoffs. And it's fair to assume that the teams looking outside in right now, most of them will only get better.

Im just wondering which team it's going to be next year.